1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fastening device for a sliding board as well as a board equipped with such a device. In particular, the invention relates to the field of sliding sports, and more particularly to specific arrangements for fastening shoes on a snowboard.
These arrangements are designed to allow manual and easily configurable adjustment for all persons and, in particular, the user, of the fastening depending on the user's shoe size and/or preferred boarding method.
2. Related Art
In general, the snowboard fastening device comprises a base that is designed to be secured to the upper face of the board. The space receives a hoop configured to receive the bearing forces exerted on the rear of the fastener by the user during sliding.
It has already been proposed in documents EP 1,512,442 and FR 2,811,583 to make certain parts of the fastener, and in particular the rear hoop, adjustable in longitudinal translation and/or incline relative to the base to adapt the fastener to different shoe sizes or shapes. This adjustment is particularly useful for rental equipment or when the user must change shoes frequently.
Furthermore, for sliding comfort or style reasons, users wish to be able to adjust the angular position of their shoes relative to the axis of the board and, possibly, the spacing of the feet on the board.
These adjustments are even more sensitive and necessary when the board is to be used indifferently by left-handed and right-handed individuals and/or people of different sizes or degrees of experience.
To that end, it was proposed in FR 2,876,041 and FR 2,834,909 to mount, on the base, a central pivot that allows the rotation of the base, temporarily and only at the end of adjustment. This pivot is designed to be locked, after adjustment, by cooperation with an anchor element secured to the board.
Another adjustment solution was proposed in EP 1,508,352 consisting of making the base in three parts with two telescoping upper plates to make it possible to adapt the fastening area, in contact with the lower part of the shoe, to the shoe size. However, the element for securing and locking the base is not easily accessible, and the solution also does not offer any possibility of angular adjustment incorporating rotational locking.
Furthermore, this document does not examine the rear bearing of the shoe.